As of today, no one has figured out how to avoid that fatal flaw in the video game of life.

We get pulled into life without our permission. And at the other the end of the game, people disappear. You may have been with one or more people at the moment of their deaths; a profound and moving experience.

Truth is, death is what happens to everyone.

Jesus, along with whatever you might believe about him, was also fully human.

That human side must have struggled with death as much as we do. This is not just conjecture. At Gethsemane, he sweated and struggled in agony against his calling: The Crucifixion. Death. Execution.

Paraphrased, he said: Father, get me out of this. I'd like to do something else.

Can you blame him?

Jesus walked closely with the Creator. It was his custom to rise early and go off and pray/meditate. I would pay anything to know how he prayed and what he was experiencing.

When one walks closely with the Creator, it isn't all happy Hallmark cards. You and I get prompted to do all kinds of uncomfortable things.

Jesus got a calling to go to Jerusalem ... and die.

Don't worry, the Creator said, you'll rise again.

Jesus needed to know that there was enough power to bring him over the canyon of death. He asked his Father: Ya gotta show me.

So Jesus climbed Mount Tabor with Peter, James and John. And the glory fell upon them. Jesus' face shone like the sun. And his closest friends hit the ground in fear. They later called it the "Transfiguration."

And Jesus then set his face "like flint" to go to Jerusalem and face his mortality. In faith.

Afraid of death? Don't hesitate to ask the Father to show you the power that will bring you over the divide.

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